Yule

Yule or Yuletide ("Yule time" or "Yule season") is a festival historically observed by the Germanic peoples. Scholars have connected the original celebrations of Yule to the Wild Hunt, the god Odin, and the pagan Anglo-Saxon Mōdraniht.

For other uses, see Yule (disambiguation).

"Joulu" redirects here. For the album by Rajaton, see Joulu (album).

Yule
Hauling a Yule log in 1832
Also called	Yuletide, Yulefest
Observed by	Various Northern Europeans, Germanic peoples, Neopagans, LaVeyan Satanists
Type	Cultural, Germanic Pagan then Christian, secular, contemporary Pagan and Satanic
Begins	December solstice
Ends	Eleven days after the December solstice
Date	Varies
Frequency	Annual
Related to	Christmastide, Quarter days, Wheel of the Year, Winter festivals, Christmas

Later departing from its pagan roots, Yule underwent Christianised reformulation,[1] resulting in the term Christmastide. Many present-day Christmas customs and traditions such as the Yule log, Yule goat, Yule boar, Yule singing, and others stem from pagan Yule traditions. Terms with an etymological equivalent to Yule are still used in Nordic countries and Estonia to describe Christmas and other festivals occurring during the winter holiday season. Today, Yule is celebrated in Heathenry and other forms of Neopaganism, as well as in LaVeyan Satanism.

Etymology

Yule is the modern version of the Old English words ġēol or ġēohol and ġēola or ġēoli, with the former indicating the 12-day festival of "Yule" (later: "Christmastide") and the latter indicating the month of "Yule", whereby ǣrra ġēola referred to the period before the Yule festival (December) and æftera ġēola referred to the period after Yule (January). Both words are thought to be derived from Common Germanic *jeχʷla-, and are cognate with Gothic 𐌾𐌹𐌿𐌻𐌴𐌹𐍃 (jiuleis); Old Norse, Icelandic, Faroese and Norwegian Nynorsk jól, jol, ýlir; Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian Bokmål jul.[2][3] The etymological pedigree of the word, however, remains uncertain, though numerous speculative attempts have been made to find Indo-European cognates outside the Germanic group, too.[4] The noun Yuletide is first attested from around 1475.[5]

The word is attested in an explicitly pre-Christian context primarily in Old Norse. Among many others (see List of names of Odin), the long-bearded god Odin bears the names jólfaðr (Old Norse for 'Yule father') and jólnir ('the Yule one'). In Ágrip af Nóregskonungasögum, written in the 12th century, it is explicitly stated that Christmas, iol, comes from a name of Odin, iolne. In plural (Old Norse jólnar, 'the Yule ones') may refer to the Norse gods in general. In Old Norse poetry, the word is often employed as a synonym for 'feast', such as in the kenning hugins jól (Old Norse 'Huginn's Yule' → 'a raven's feast').[6]

It has been thought that Old French jolif (→ French joli), which was borrowed into English in the 14th century as 'jolly', is itself borrowed from Old Norse jól (with the Old French suffix -if; compare Old French aisif "easy", Modern French festif = fest "feast" + -if).[7] But the Oxford English Dictionary sees this explanation for jolif as unlikely.[8] The French word is first attested in the Anglo-Norman Estoire des Engleis, or "History of the English People", written by Geoffrey Gaimar between 1136 and 1140.[9]

Germanic paganism

Yule is an indigenous midwinter festival celebrated by the Germanic peoples. The earliest references to it are in the form of month names, where the Yule-tide period lasts somewhere around two months, falling along the end of the modern calendar year between what is now mid-November and early January.[10]

Attestations

Illustration of an ancient Nordic Yule festival (Die Gartenlaube, 1880)

Yule is attested early in the history of the Germanic peoples; from the 4th-century Gothic language it appears in the month name fruma jiuleis, and, in the 8th century, the English historian Bede wrote that the Anglo-Saxon calendar included the months geola or giuli corresponding to either modern December or December and January.[11]

While the Old Norse month name ýlir is similarly attested, the Old Norse corpus also contains numerous references to an event by the Old Norse form of the name, jól. In chapter 55 of the Prose Edda book Skáldskaparmál, different names for the gods are given; one is "Yule-beings". A work by the skald Eyvindr skáldaspillir that uses the term is then quoted: "again we have produced Yule-being's feast [mead of poetry], our rulers' eulogy, like a bridge of masonry".[12] In addition, one of the numerous names of Odin is Jólnir, referring to the event.[13]

The Saga of Hákon the Good credits King Haakon I of Norway who ruled from 934 to 961 with the Christianization of Norway as well as rescheduling Yule to coincide with Christian celebrations held at the time. The saga says that when Haakon arrived in Norway he was a confirmed Christian, but since the land was still altogether heathen and the people retained their pagan practices, Haakon hid his Christianity to receive the help of the "great chieftains". In time, Haakon had a law passed establishing that Yule celebrations were to take place at the same time as the Christians celebrated Christmas, "and at that time everyone was to have ale for the celebration with a measure of grain, or else pay fines, and had to keep the holiday while the ale lasted."[14]

Yule had previously been celebrated for three nights from midwinter night, according to the saga. Haakon planned that when he had solidly established himself and held power over the whole country, he would then "have the gospel preached". According to the saga, the result was that his popularity caused many to allow themselves to be baptized, and some people stopped making sacrifices. Haakon spent most of this time in Trondheim. When Haakon believed that he wielded enough power, he requested a bishop and other priests from England, and they came to Norway. On their arrival, "Haakon made it known that he would have the gospel preached in the whole country." The saga continues, describing the different reactions of various regional things.[14]

A description of pagan Yule practices is provided (notes are Hollander's own):

It was ancient custom that when sacrifice was to be made, all farmers were to come to the heathen temple and bring along with them the food they needed while the feast lasted. At this feast all were to take part of the drinking of ale. Also all kinds of livestock were killed in connection with it, horses also; and all the blood from them was called hlaut [sacrificial blood], and hlautbolli, the vessel holding the blood; and hlautteinar, the sacrificial twigs [‌aspergills‌]. These were fashioned like sprinklers, and with them were to be smeared all over with blood the pedestals of the idols and also the walls of the temple within and without; and likewise the men present were to be sprinkled with blood. But the meat of the animals was to be boiled and served as food at the banquet. Fires were to be lighted in the middle of the temple floor, and kettles hung over the fires. The sacrificial beaker was to be borne around the fire, and he who made the feast and was chieftain, was to bless the beaker as well as all the sacrificial meat.[15]

The narrative continues that toasts were to be drunk. The first toast was to be drunk to Odin "for victory and power to the king", the second to the gods Njörðr and Freyr "for good harvests and for peace", and third, a beaker was to be drunk to the king himself. In addition, toasts were drunk to the memory of departed kinsfolk. These were called minni.[15]

Theories and interpretation

Scholars have connected the month event and Yule period to the Wild Hunt (a ghostly procession in the winter sky), the god Odin (who is attested in Germanic areas as leading the Wild Hunt and bears the name Jólnir), and increased supernatural activity, such as the Wild Hunt and the increased activities of draugar—undead beings who walk the earth.[16]

Mōdraniht, an event focused on collective female beings attested by Bede as having occurred among the pagan Anglo-Saxons on what is now Christmas Eve, has been seen as further evidence of a fertility event during the Yule period.[10]

The events of Yule are generally held to have centered on Midwinter (although specific dating is a matter of debate), with feasting, drinking, and sacrifice (blót). Scholar Rudolf Simek says the pagan Yule feast "had a pronounced religious character" and that "it is uncertain whether the Germanic Yule feast still had a function in the cult of the dead and in the veneration of the ancestors, a function which the mid-winter sacrifice certainly held for the West European Stone and Bronze Ages." The traditions of the Yule log, Yule goat, Yule boar (Sonargöltr, still reflected in the Christmas ham), Yule singing, and others stem from Yule customs, which Simek says "indicates the significance of the feast in pre-Christian times."[17]

Contemporary traditions

In modern Germanic language-speaking areas and some other Northern European countries, historical cognates to English yule denote the Christmas holiday season. Examples include jul in Sweden, Denmark, and Norway, jól in Iceland and the Faroe Islands, joulu in Finland, Joelfest in Friesland, Joelfeest in the Netherlands and jõulud in Estonia.

Neopaganism

As forms of Neopaganism can be quite different and have very different origins, these representations can vary considerably despite the shared name. Some celebrate in a way as close as possible to how they believe Ancient Germanic pagans observed the tradition, while others observe the holiday with rituals "assembled from different sources".[18] In Germanic Neopagan sects, Yule is celebrated with gatherings that often involve a meal and gift giving.

Groups such as the Asatru Folk Assembly in the US recognize the celebration as lasting 12 days, beginning on the date of the winter solstice.[19] In most forms of Wicca, this holiday is celebrated at the winter solstice as the rebirth of the Great horned hunter god,[20] who is viewed as the newborn solstice sun. The method of gathering for this sabbat varies by practitioner. Some have private ceremonies at home,[21] while others do so with their covens.[22]

LaVeyan Satanism

The Church of Satan and other LaVeyan Satanist groups celebrate Yule as an alternative to the Christian Christmas holiday.[23][24]

See also

• Dísablót, an event attested from Old Norse sources as having occurred among the pagan Norse
• Mōdraniht, an event attested by Bede as having occurred among the pagan Anglo-Saxons on what is now Christmas Eve
• Julebord, the modern Scandinavian Christmas feast
• Lohri, a Punjabi winter solstice festival
• Saturnalia, an ancient Roman festival in honor of the deity Saturn, held on 17 December and expanded with festivities through 23 December
• Yaldā Night, an Iranian festival celebrated on the "longest and darkest night of the year."
• Koliada, a Slavic winter festival

Notes

1. "Winter Solstice/Yule". Vancouver Island University. 21 December 2019. Retrieved 9 July 2020. Yule is a festival historically observed by the Germanic peoples. Departing from its pagan roots, Yule underwent Christianised reformulation resulting in the now better-known Christmastide.
2. Bosworth & Toller (1898:424); Hoad (1996:550); Orel (2003:205)
3. "jol". Bokmålsordboka | Nynorskordboka. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
4. For a brief overview of the proposed etymologies, see Orel (2003:205).
5. Barnhart (1995:896).
6. Guðbrandur Vigfússon (1874:326).
7. T. F. Hoad, English Etymology, Oxford University Press, 1993 (ISBN 0-19-283098-8).
8. "jolly, adj. and adv." OED Online, Oxford University Press, December 2019. Accessed 9 December 2019.
9. Site CNTRL; Etymology of joli (in French)
10. Orchard (1997:187).
11. Simek (2007:379).
12. Faulkes (1995:133).
13. Simek (2007:180–181).
14. Hollander (2007:106).
15. Hollander (2007:107).
16. Simek (2007:180–181 and 379–380) and Orchard (1997:187).
17. Simek (2007:379–380).
18. Hutton, Ronald (December 2008). "Modern Pagan Festivals: A Study in the Nature of Tradition". Folklore. Taylor & Francis. 119 (3): 251–273. doi:10.1080/00155870802352178. JSTOR 40646468.
19. McNallen, Stephen The Twelve Days of Yule – 2005 Archived 9 January 2007 at the Wayback Machine
20. James Buescher (15 December 2007). "Wiccans, pagans ready to celebrate Yule". Lancaster Online. Archived from the original on 29 December 2007. Retrieved 21 December 2007.
21. Andrea Kannapell (21 December 1997). "Celebrations; It's Solstice, Hanukkah, Kwannza: Let There Be Light!". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 December 2007.
22. Ruth la Ferla (13 December 2000). "Like Magic, Witchcraft Charms Teenagers". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 December 2007. Generally meeting in covens, which anoint their own priests and priestesses, Wiccans chant and cast or draw circles to invoke their deities, mainly during festivals like Samhain and Yule, which coincide with Halloween and Christmas, and when the moon is full.
23. "F.A.Q. Holidays". Church of Satan. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
24. Escobedo, Tricia (11 December 2015). "5 things you didn't know about Satanists". CNN. Retrieved 6 March 2019. So for the Yule holiday season we enjoy the richness of life and the company of people whom we cherish, as we will often be the only ones who know where the traditions really came from!

References

• Barnhart, Robert K. (1995). The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology. Harper Collins. ISBN 0062700847
• Bosworth, Joseph; Toller, T. Northcote (1898). An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Faulkes, Anthony (Trans.) (1995). Edda. Everyman. ISBN 0-460-87616-3.
• Guðbrandur Vigfússon (1874). An Icelandic-English Dictionary: Based on the Ms. Collections of the Late Richard Cleasby. Clarendon Press.
• Hoad, T. F. (1996). The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-283098-8.
• Hollander, M. Lee (Trans.) (2007). Heimskringla: History of the Kings of Norway. University of Texas Press. ISBN 978-0-292-73061-8
• Orchard, Andy (1997). Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend. Cassell. ISBN 0-304-34520-2.
• Orel, Vladimir (2003). A Handbook of Germanic Etymology. Leiden: Brill Publishers. pg. 205. ISBN 90-04-12875-1.
• Simek, Rudolf (2007) translated by Angela Hall. Dictionary of Northern Mythology. D.S. Brewer ISBN 0-85991-513-1

External links

• Quotations related to Yule at Wikiquote
• Media related to Yule at Wikimedia Commons